Teenage recall - back on the long lead

[puginamug]

Another puppy question.

Our spaniel is 7 months old. I've worked hard on his recall and it's been pretty good and I have let him off lead wherever possible for the last couple of months (We have lots of woods etc near us). He never liked to stray too far and came back happily when called.

However, there have been a couple of incidents recently which have scared me so I'm putting him back on the long lead for.a bit.

The first time he randomly shot off after another dog (I think she may have been in season as never happened before) ducked under a fence and onto a main road. The other incidents were both off road on tracks. One was a particularly feisty dog who was on a lead but my dog kept running up to him and I couldn't get him back. Today there was a horse and rider on the bridleway and again, I couldn't get him back.

It seems to be when he's spooked by something, he seems to panic.

I'm happy to put him back on a long lead for a while, just to keep him safe, but wonder how to train him for these distractions. I can hardly hang around waiting for aggressive dogs!

Or is it a phase and will pass if we keep working on recall as we have been doing but on the long lead.

I would take him somewhere else where there are 'safer' distractions. Big wide open spaces are like god's gift to spaniels and it's usually when they've got a scent of something that they bugger off and stick the proverbial two paws up at you.

have you got a local recreation ground or green where lots of other people walk their dogs? that type of place is good for distraction training

it doesn't sound like he's great with most distractions at the moment so I would definitely take it back a step and definitely keep his long line on

we are at 15 months with our spaniel now and he's just becoming more reliable again

btw it is around that age that they start getting confident. You get lulled into a false sense of security when they are young as they don't like going far from you and then suddenly they discover they can go far away and how much fun it is!

Yes this is exactly what's happened.

Thank you.

I took him on a walk this morning which was busy with other dogs and kept him on a lead. Hopefully he'll get the gist.

Bloody spaniels.

I’d try upping the value of his treats. Our puppy likes cheese and sausages, no dog treats 😂. Make sure you call him back often even when you don’t need to so he knows if he comes back he’ll get something good!

Mine is a CKCS. He’s rather more “ spaniel “ than the breed might suggest 😂

At 2 he’s really started the “ nose on , ears off “ moments in the woods / undergrowth. He’s confident , knows where we are and buggers off and does what he wants 😡😂

I did wonder about back on the long line but he’s 90+ % brilliant - and he just get tangled in the woods.

So we’ve had some recent lovely walks by going back to high value rewards , lots of training ( yes “ come “ but also “ touch “, through legs / round me etc especially to avoid calling recall words and being ignored ).

But mainly we are managing the routes with care and allowing a bit of wood / hedge running - he loves it so - but keeping those times short and back on the lead whilst everything is still good. I think long rabbity runs are way too “ self reinforcing “ so I just don’t allow them.

We went backwards at that age. He's 18 months now (Spaniel) and so reliable.. even with sheep.
Be the most fun ever whether that's playing chase, taking a toy or proper human treats. I once opened a jar of frankfurter sausages out on a walk after he came back and I swear he's never forgotten it. Just let him hit the jackpot once in a while.
The book Total Recall is excellent as a step by step guide.